The Orioles and Rays stumbled into extra innings today and didn’t know how to get out.

Neither team scored in the 10th, and they both tallied two runs in the 11th and one in the 12th. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead in the 13 and the Orioles tied it again.

Colton Cowser was in no mood for a 14th. He launched a Jesse Scholtens slider 425 feet to right-center field to give the Orioles an insane 9-7 win before an announced crowd of 22,388 at Camden Yards.

Leody Taveras began the final rally with a run-scoring double leading off the inning. Blaze Alexander singled and Jackson Holliday’s sacrifice fly leveled the game again. And then, Cowser stepped to the plate and put an end to the madness, producing his second walk-off homer in two days. He also ended Game 1 against the Tigers.

Cowser didn’t own a walk-off until Sunday. Now, he can’t stop.

“It was to get something out over and just try to put something in play through the middle, and a single was all we needed and ended up hitting homer,” Cowser said. “So I should, you know, do that more often.”

Or maybe sooner.

The Orioles hadn’t played 13 innings since May 20, 2022 against the Rays, when Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer off Ralph Garza Jr. Cowser is the second player in franchise history to hit walk-off homers on consecutive days after Fred Lynn on May 10-11, 1985.

“I’m ecstatic,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “It’s one of those things, behind the scenes and the unseen hours, you get to see guys who are not getting the results they want, but the work their putting in and the collaboration with our hitting coaches trying to problem solve, either in approach or swing adjustment, stance, whatever it is, to see it come through in the biggest moment at the biggest stage against a really good team, couldn’t be happier or prouder of Colton.”

Cowser is 7-for-24 with three homers and nine RBIs in 11 games since May 9 and has raised his average to .200 with a .603 OPS.

“His confidence has been there,” Albernaz said. “Like we talked about since Kansas City is he really started to feel his swing and get comfortable. He had a couple tough stretches, but he stuck with his process, stuck with the work, and now we get to see that come to fruition right now. His at-bats have been better as of late, but outstanding right now.”

“We all know what he’s capable of,” said Kyle Bradish, “and I think he’s getting out of whatever he was in and starting to be the player that he is.”

Victor Mesa Jr. led off the 11th with a two-run homer off Tyler Wells, but the Orioles scored twice against Ian Seymour. Wells returned for the 12th, and Jonathan Aranda’s sacrifice fly gave Tampa Bay another lead that disappeared on a fielder’s choice and reversed call at home. The Rays scored twice against Dietrich Enns in the 13th, but he earned the win.

Cedric Mullins slapped an RBI single into left field in the 13th at 70. 3 mph after Richie Palacios’ bunt single. The soft approach worked. And Nick Fortes’ sacrifice fly increased the lead to 7-5.

“I’m in here, and I turn into a fan watching the game,” Bradish said. “All the guys that were in here, living and dying by every pitch. We were really excited for that, and then Cowser came through again.”

Rico Garcia gave the Orioles two scoreless innings. They stranded two in the 10th, but Pete Alonso had an RBI single off Seymour in the 11th and took second base on Chandler Simpson’s throwing error. Alonso scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s game-tying single. What followed were a sacrifice bunt, intentional walk, strikeout and fly ball. And then, more craziness.

Taylor Ward’s long fly ball to center field against Scholtens in the 12th moved Cowser to third base with one out. Aranda made a nice stop of Gunnar Henderson’s sharp grounder to first and threw home, where Fortes applied the tag on a diving Cowser. Henderson kept running until he reached third base, Rays manager Kevin Cash argued, Henderson was sent back to first, and Albernaz came out of the dugout to get an explanation and challenge the call, which was overturned after a lengthy review.

“It was a great slide,” Albernaz said. “It was one of those baseball plays where everybody did everything right. Gunnar did a great job of getting the ball forward in that situation. Cowser had a great lead and a great jump on the contact play, and Aranda makes a great play at first and a great throw. And then Cowser made an awesome slide. There’s no better way to put it. Slide his hand in there. So yeah, that was a big moment.”

“I didn’t know where he tagged me,” Cowser said. “I just felt contact kind of on this arm. I didn’t know what it was. Turns out it was his leg, so I felt like I got my hand in there. Now, as matter of fact, it was a glove over the leg and through the leg.”

The Orioles are six games below .500 again at 24-30, and 1-3 against the Rays after being swept last week at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay is 34-17 overall but 15-12 on the road.

“I said it earlier, and probably one of my favorite wins on the Orioles,” Cowser said. “There’s a couple that are up there, and that was one of my favorite complete team wins. Started out with Bradish, who had a great outing, and bullpen just kept stacking them up, and never quit there. It was just a matter of time before we got that big swing and it felt like we kept getting big swings there to tie the game and I was fortunate enough to put one over the fence.

“The way the game was going, we just kept scoring when they were scoring, and it felt like we were never out of it. Pete keeps saying it, we were in the trenches with them and just to keep grinding. Lineup just kept coming through and kept putting ourselves in good positions to win the game, and ultimately came through.”

“I think by far that was our best game,” Bradish said. “Complete game. Defense is really good, bullpen was there, and the bats, battling to the last strike or whatever it was, but not giving up.”

Said Albernaz: “Definitely uplifting in the sense of, we kept on getting punched and we didn’t waver. We kept on having great at-bats. It’s tough when the visiting team, I wouldn’t say has the advantage, but they put up two and now we’re chasing, or they put up one. Our guys did a great job of not trying to do too much and having great at-bats and passing the baton to the next guy. I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”

The Orioles returned to their clubhouse two games back in the Wild Card, but also on pace for 90 losses.

“We were looking at it the other day, and it feels like the AL is kind of a toss-up right now,” Cowser said. “All we can really do is control what we can control and keep playing fundamental baseball … I just want to do what I can to help the team contribute -showing up, controlling the controllables, and all I can do is really just go out there and execute a plan and execute an approach. Once the ball leaves a bat, there’s not much I can do. I feel like we’re in a good spot, and I’m excited to see this team moving forward.”

Bradish at best

Bradish threw a slider and strolled off the mound, making a direct line from the rubber to the dugout with head held high while Junior Caminero slammed his helmet to the ground. That’s the kind of emotion that Bradish brings out of a hitter when he’s on top of his game. Players boil over while Bradish exudes cool.

Bradish held the Rays to one run over six innings, a solo homer from Aranda leading off the top of the sixth. The ball bounced off the roof of the former grounds crew shed and landed on the field.

One blip could have beaten Bradish, who didn’t get any offensive support while in the game. The Orioles were shut out until the seventh, when they took advantage of sloppy play by the Rays to score twice. Bradish accepted the no-decision and pumped some life into a rotation that’s got the second-worst ERA in the majors.

Hours after his departure, he still qualified as an important part of an otherwise mistake-filled game. To be determined later was whether he’d be a consolation prize. It took a while to find out.

Bradish has done what other pitchers in the rotation are trying to emulate – rebound from a slow start to get in a groove.

In his last four outings, Bradish has allowed six runs and 15 hits over 24 1/3 innings. His ERA was 5.03 on May 2 but is down to 3.86.

“Just keep building where we’re at,” he said. “Each start’s getting better and better. Today was one pitch, but if we stay there we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Rays were held to five hits against Bradish, but a 20-pitch sixth inning inflated his count to 92 and removed him from the game.

Bradish recorded the first two outs of the game on three pitches. Aranda doubled and Díaz grounded out in a 10-pitch inning.

Shane McClanahan also recorded the first two outs on three pitches in the bottom of the first inning. McClanahan was back in the dugout after six.

A pitchers’ duel was underway.

The Rays had back-to-back two-out singles in the third, including Caminero’s grounder that Holliday couldn’t corral. Aranda struck out on a 95.7 mph fastball.

Mullins drew a two-out walk in the fourth and Mesa struck out looking at a sinker. Taylor Walls singled with one out in the fifth, but Bradish raced off the mound to field Simpson’s roller and threw him out, and Caminero flailed at a slider to complete an eight-pitch at-bat.

Alexander led off the third inning with a single, broke too soon for second base and was tagged in a rundown. Tyler O’Neill singled with two outs to break an 0-for-16 streak. He was 2-for-29 in his last nine games.

This wasn’t the last time that the Orioles ran into an out.

Taveras reached on a bunt single with one out in the fifth and raced to second base when McClanahan’s glove flip resulted in an error. Holliday walked with two outs, but O’Neill grounded to McClanahan.

McClanahan drilled Henderson behind the right arm with a 96.9 mph fastball with one out in the sixth. Fans booed, but McClanahan walked toward the plate, patted his chest and gestured to Henderson that the pitch was a mistake, and Henderson nodded and pointed back.

Adley Rutschman walked and McClanahan’s day was over after 84 pitches in 5 1/3 innings. He held the Orioles to three hits. Bigge replaced him and walked Alonso, but after Henderson broke early for third base and was tagged in a rundown. Rutschman advanced to second and was stranded with Alonso when pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo bounced out.

Two baserunning mistakes are magnified in a tight game.

What else happened?

Taveras led off the seventh inning with a walk, stole second base and raced to third on reliever Hunter Bigge’s errant pickoff throw. Taveras scored the tying run on Alexander’s single.

Casey Legumina struck out two batters, but Ward singled and Mesa sailed a throw over third base to let Alexander score the go-ahead run.

Anthony Nunez was handed the eighth inning and gave up a one-out double to Yandy Díaz, who raced to third base when Taveras dropped the ball after removing it from his glove. Pinch-runner Oliver Dunn scored on Palacios’ single.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

Etc, Etc

*Mullins watched from the on-deck circle as the Orioles played a video tribute before the top of the second inning. Fans stood to cheer Mullins, who raised his helmet in appreciation.

The Orioles traded Mullins to the Mets at last year’s deadline – Nunez was one of three minor leaguers acquired – and the Rays signed him to a $7 million contract with a mutual option.

*Reliever Colin Selby received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right shoulder on Wednesday. He’s on the 60-day injured list.

Cade Povich, on the 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation, was reassessed today to begin a throwing progression.

*Mustard finally won the Hot Dog Race today, improving to 1-27. The team presented him with a pair of special glasses to help him find the finish line, and it worked.

Also, no team employees interfered, which also helped.